Modular instrument package for aerosol optical properties and cloud condensation nuclei activity

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The instrument package will enable in situ measurements of aerosol optical properties and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activation at high temporal and spatial resolution on HALO aircraft missions. The measured parameters will be: aerosol scattering and absorption coefficients at multiple wavelengths, black carbon equivalent mass concentrations, CCN number concentrations and efficiencies as a function of water vapour supersaturation and particle diameter (CCN spectra). Advanced measurement techniques and instrumentation will be developed, adapted, and integrated on HALO. A multi-channel CCN counter measuring the supersaturation and size dependence of CCN concentration and efficiency at high time resolution will be newly designed on the basis of a prototype system developed and applied in our group for ground-based measurements. The optical techniques, most of which are also already used in our group, will be optimized with regard to sensitivity and time resolution. The instrument package will be used to study the impact of aerosols on atmospheric processes and climate, as foreseen in the demo mission ACRIDICON and follow-up projects. The results will be essential for understanding and quantifying the direct and indirect effects of anthropogenic and natural aerosols on the Earth’s energy balance and hydrological cycle. Moreover, individual modules can and shall be used to complement missions which are not focused on but influenced by aerosol properties, such as the demo mission NARVAL and other missions investigating clouds and precipitation (e.g., NEPTUN).